looks like they're ready to put the final nail in the US manufacturing coffin...

Quote:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen Senate Republicans say they have cleared the way for legislation to help workers displaced by foreign competition, possibly removing the main obstacle to approval of free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia..............http://news.yahoo.com/republicans-cl...192307420.html

since NAFTA has worked out so well for the economy it only makes sence to expand it ...oh wait .....

Quote:

The high price of ‘free’ trade..........

November 17, 2003
Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1993, the rise in the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico through 2002 has caused the displacement of production that supported 879,280 U.S. jobs. Most of those lost jobs were high-wage positions in manufacturing industries. The loss of these jobs is just the most visible tip of NAFTA's impact on the U.S. economy. In fact, NAFTA has also contributed to rising income inequality, suppressed real wages for production workers, weakened workers' collective bargaining powers and ability to organize unions, and reduced fringe benefits. ...............http://www.epi.org/publications/entr...gpapers_bp147/

Quote:

U.S. lawmakers launch push to repeal NAFTAWASHINGTON | Thu Mar 4, 2010
Reuters) - A small group of U.S. lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement in the latest sign of congressional disillusionment with free-trade deals.

The bill spearheaded by Rep. Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat, would require President Barack Obama to give Mexico and Canada six months notice that the United States will no longer be part of the 16-year-old trade pact.

"At a time when 10 to 12 percent of the American people are unemployed, I think Congress has an obligation to put people back to work," Taylor said.

He argued NAFTA has cost the United States millions of manufacturing jobs and hurt national security by encouraging companies to move production to Mexico.

The high unemployment rate makes it the "perfect" time to push for repeal even though past efforts have failed, he said.

"You'll see the American people rally behind this, in my humble opinion," said Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican who is one of about 28 co-sponsors of the bill.

Business groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly support NAFTA, which they say has spurred U.S. economic growth by tearing down trade barriers between the three countries.

The repeal proposal comes as Obama says he wants to resolve problems blocking congressional approval of long-delayed trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia.

The strongest opposition to those agreements comes from Obama's fellow Democrats.

The United States also will begin talks later this month with Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, Peru, Vietnam and Brunei on an Asia-Pacific regional free-trade agreement.

Obama criticized NAFTA during the 2008 presidential election campaign but has not followed through on threats to withdraw from the agreement if Canada and Mexico did not agree to revamp the pact's labor and environmental provisions.

But many Democrats are pushing for that and other changes to existing trade deals before considering any new deals such as the deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote later this year on whether the United States should remain a member of the World Trade Organization.

U.S. law allows House and Senate members to request a vote on that issue every five years. In 2005, 86 of the House's 435 members voted to withdraw from the world trade body.

Not ONE of them is going to do what's in our best interests. They'll pretend to, but they won't do a damn thing about our real problems. Sure, trade agreements such as NAFTA aren't good for us, but Canada and Mexico aren't the problem ... it's China.

Wait, I forgot that I'm supposed to believe everything the government tells me. :doh:

MasterOfPuppets

07-23-2011 12:59 AM

Re: Republicans clear way for worker aid, trade bills

this has EVERYTHING to do with our great elected politicians on their knee's sucking off corporate CEO's for kickbacks....

Quote:

Finally, "threat effects" arise when firms threaten to close plants and move them abroad while bargaining with workers over wages and working conditions. Employers' credible threats to relocate plants, outsource portions of their operations, and purchase intermediate goods and services directly from foreign producers can have a substantial impact on workers' bargaining positions. The use of these kinds of threats is widespread. A Wall Street Journal survey in 1992 reported that one-fourth of almost 500 American corporate executives polled admitted that they were "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to use NAFTA as a bargaining chip to hold down wages

this is class warfare at it's finest... and guess who's side the dirtbags we elect are on ? it looks like 3/4 ths of corporate exec's are god damn liars !!!

Wallace108

07-23-2011 01:18 AM

Re: Republicans clear way for worker aid, trade bills

As I've stated before, I don't think there's any doubt we've been sold out by both parties. I love when people say we have the power with our votes. That's a bunch of crap. Even if we kick a few out and replace them, the new guys/women might go to Washington with the best of intentions, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that they have to play the game or else they get blackballed and won't be there long. The only way to fix the system is to get rid of every member of Congress at once and start from scratch. But that's impossible. So I'm not sure what the answer is. :noidea:

MasterOfPuppets

07-23-2011 02:57 AM

Re: Republicans clear way for worker aid, trade bills

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wallace108
(Post 932647)

As I've stated before, I don't think there's any doubt we've been sold out by both parties. I love when people say we have the power with our votes. That's a bunch of crap. Even if we kick a few out and replace them, the new guys/women might go to Washington with the best of intentions, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that they have to play the game or else they get blackballed and won't be there long. The only way to fix the system is to get rid of every member of Congress at once and start from scratch. But that's impossible. So I'm not sure what the answer is. :noidea:

and that my friend is the reason i posted the link for the petition for term limits. it seems some people ( but not nearly enough )are finally starting to realize that both sides are playing the middle , but yet seem content with just bitchin about it instead of seeking ways to do something about it. the tea party was a good idea until they let it become hijacked by repub rejects like palin. .... i don't necessarily agree with everything that comes out of Ron Pauls mouth , or have any idea of how much of it is just lip service for votes , but he speaks in a language the average joe can wrap their heads around.

Despite that poll, I don't think Ron Paul could win a general election unless our country is a lot worse off around the election than it is now.

Wallace108

07-23-2011 04:10 AM

Re: Republicans clear way for worker aid, trade bills

Oh, and you mentioned the tea party. And you're right, it started off as a good thing until it got hijacked by certain Republicans. Out of all the candidates, the tea party should love Ron Paul. He believes in most of what the tea party claims to believe in. The one major difference is that tea party members are a lot more hawkish.

If Republicans voted for what they preach, they'd support Ron Paul. But most voters tend to prefer a slick, charismatic politician like Mitt Romney ... even though they say that's the kind of politician they hate.

MasterOfPuppets

07-23-2011 03:53 PM

Re: Republicans clear way for worker aid, trade bills

unlike the other dirtbags in DC who flip flop depending on what they have to gain at the time , Paul has been consistent through out his political career . he delivers the same message now as he did a decade ago..
the larger fon't below is the exact same thing you'd probably hear from the majority of americans if asked how they think the government should be run ..... but yet at the polls they elect to keep the status quo and keep bitchin about the mess the dirtbags keep us in.

people don't want...
their tax dollars being donated to foreign countries...
the government regulating their personal lives and businesses...
their tax dollars subsidizing corporations
their sons and daughters fighting wars for other countries
their tax dollars spent on playing world police
their jobs shipped overseas with our government blessing

but yet they forget all of those issues come election time... i don't get it....

"The other day, I made a huge "gaffe" on national TV: I told the truth about the crimes of the U.S. government. As you can imagine, the ceiling fell in, and a couple of walls too. Congressmen are supposed to support the government, I was told. Oh, it's okay to criticize around the edges, but there are certain subjects a member of the House of Representatives is not supposed to bring up. But I touched the real "third-rail" of American politics, and the sparks sure flew.

I was interviewed on C-SPAN's morning "Washington Journal," and I used the opportunity, as I do all such media appearances, to point out how many of our liberties have been stolen by the federal government. We must take them back. The Constitution, after all, has a very limited role for Washington, D.C. If we stuck to the Constitution as written, we would have: no federal meddling in our schools; no Federal Reserve; no U.S. membership in the UN; no gun control; and no foreign aid. We would have no welfare for big corporations, or the "poor"; no American troops in 100 foreign countries; no NAFTA, GATT, or "fast-track"; no arrogant federal judges usurping states rights; no attacks on private property; and no income tax. We could get rid of most of the cabinet departments, most of the agencies, and most of the budget. The government would be small, frugal, and limited. That system is called liberty. It's what the Founding Fathers gave us. Under liberty, we built the greatest, freest, most prosperous, most decent country on earth. It's no coincidence that the monstrous growth of the federal government has been accompanied by a sickening decline in living standards and moral standards. The feds want us to be hamsters on a treadmill--working hard, all day long, to pay high taxes, but otherwise entirely docile and controlled. The huge, expensive, and out-of-control leviathan that we call the federal government wants to run every single aspect of our lives. Well, I'm sorry, but that's not America. It's not what the Founders gave us. It's not the country you believe in. It's not the country I believe in.